Kurama
Kurama, more commonly known as the Nine-Tails, is one of the nine tailed beasts. Centuries of being regarded as a mindless monster and sought after as a tool for war caused Kurama to hate humans. After being sealed into Zero, Kurama attempts to maintain its negative opinions about the world, but with Naruto's insistence on treating it with respect, the fox overturns its hatred and willingly strives to use its power for the world's salvation. Background Kurama and the tailed beasts first came into being in the waning days of Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki, who used his Creation of All Things Technique to divide the Ten-Tails' chakra into nine separate bodies and giving each a name. Some time after being created, the Sage explained to the young tailed beasts that a link existed between them despite their separation. He also foretold of a day when they would be brought together again - though not as they were - and that at that time someone would emerge to show them what true power is. In the anime, before his death, Hagoromo sent Kurama to live in a temple built for the purpose of protecting it in a forest region with mountains that would later become part of the Land of Fire.Over time, Kurama gained a fearsome reputation as a natural disaster that can desolate areas where the darkest aspects of human nature collect and fester. At one point during the time of the formation of the shinobi villages, the Gold and Silver Brothers of Kumogakure were assigned to capture Kurama, but were both swallowed whole by the fox. However, the two brothers managed to survive and gain some of its power by eating the flesh of its stomach for two weeks, forcing Kurama to regurgitate them. After Madara Uchiha defected from Konoha, he used his Sharingan to control and use Kurama to help him fight against Hashirama Senju, the First Hokage, in order to exact his revenge. During their battle, Madara combined his Susanoo with Kurama, increasing the latter's offensive and defensive capabilities.Naruto chapter 621 However, Hashirama was able to remove Kurama from Susanoo and released the tailed beast from Madara's control, subduing it in the process.Naruto chapter 626 After his victory over Madara, Hashirama deemed Kurama too dangerous to be allowed to walk free and Mito Uzumaki sealed the fox within herself, becoming its first jinchūriki. Over the period of time which included the first two Shinobi World Wars, Mito kept Kurama at bay except for one occasion when the seal had weakened as she was going through childbirth.Naruto chapter 500, page 9 Toward the end of her life, Mito passed on this status and responsibility to another member of her clan, Kushina Uzumaki, who later became the wife of Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage. Although Kushina was terrified with the responsibility of containing Kurama, Mito assured her successor that the fox's hatred was powerless against her love.Naruto chapter 500, pages 4-6 Twelve years before the start of the series, after the end of the Third Shinobi World War, the Third Hokage and his wife made preparations to ensure that Kurama would remain sealed within Kushina as she gave birth to Naruto. However, despite keeping her childbirth a secret, a masked man discovered Kushina's location, killing her escorts and managing to break the seal, seizing control of Kurama.Naruto chapter 501, pages 7-11 Since Kushina survived the extraction, the masked man tried to have Kurama kill her before Minato got her and their son to safety. Soon afterwards, the masked man summoned Kurama into Konoha and ordered it to destroy the village.Naruto chapter 502, pages 3-5 While Kurama was rampaging in the village and decimating the shinobi forces that tried to repel it, Minato managed to place a Contract Seal on the masked man during their fight to free the fox from the masked man's control. Despite that, Kurama still harboured a deep hatred for Konoha for sealing it away for decades and resolved to destroy the village without orders from the masked man. Before Kurama could annihilate Konoha, Minato summoned Gamabunta on top of the fox, and quickly teleporting it to Kushina and Naruto's location, while letting its Tailed Beast Ball detonate away from the village. Soon afterwards, Kushina used her Adamantine Sealing Chains to subdue Kurama, planning to seal it back inside her before she dies. However, Minato, knowing that Kurama would revive without a host, and how great a threat the masked man is, came up with a plan to give Naruto the means to combat the masked man in the future when he decides to attack again.Naruto chapter 503, pages 13-19 Since Kurama's chakra was too immense to be sealed within an infant like Naruto, Minato first used the Dead Demon Consuming Seal to separate and seal its Yin half within himself and then prepared the Eight Trigrams Seal to imprison the Yang half within Naruto.Naruto chapter 370, pages 11-12''Naruto'' chapter 642, page 17 With the chains loosening from the fox's reduced size and Kushina weakened, it attempted to stop the sealing process by killing Naruto, but both of the parents sacrificed themselves to protect their newborn child and completed the sealing.Naruto chapter 504, pages 5-9 Later, upon awakening within Naruto's subconscious and learning the situation behind Minato's intention, Yang-Kurama, though frustrated of being sealed again, decided to wait for the time to come when it would influence Naruto as much as it can to use its power to break the seal.Naruto: Shippūden episode 327 Throughout the years, Kurama weakened the seal through the cracks of its formation by constantly leaking out small portions of its chakra, which had positive side-effects on Naruto such as amplifying his naturally large chakra reserves and healing ability, being able to heal from minor wounds within seconds to major injuries within a day. In the anime, it was revealed that Kurama had left behind large amounts of its chakra during the attack. Kazuma collected and sealed the chakra within his own son, Sora, hoping to make use of its power for his own agenda.Naruto: Shippūden episode 68 Personality Kurama is a cynical and shrewd individual, along with a somewhat twisted sense of humour. It uses when referring to itself, which is generally used by older men. Kurama expresses great pride in its power, believing itself to be the strongest of the tailed beasts due to its belief that their strength is determined by their number of tails, which earned Kurama nothing but disapproval from its brethren, especially Shukaku.Naruto chapter 567, page 10 Conversely, Kurama openly acknowledged the fact that it alone doesn't stand a chance against the Ten-Tails,Naruto chapter 594, page 10 and from its past experience with Madara, knew full well he is not an opponent to be underestimated, even though he was seemingly pushed into a corner at the time.Naruto chapter 659, page 5 However, it does easily get annoyed when Naruto uses a power other than its own, claiming its jinchūriki needs no other power than its own. It is also shown that Kurama deeply cares about Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki, viewing him with great respect and even shed tears after the Sage had imparted his final words to them. Centuries of receiving humanity's negative treatment caused Kurama to develop intense hostility and distrust against them, even going as far as proclaiming itself to be the living embodiment of hatred.Naruto chapter 539, page 2 Ever since its sealing within Naruto, Kurama plotted to use the young shinobi's dependence on its power to break free from the seal. Eventually, after Naruto managed to best Kurama in combat,Naruto chapters 496-499 the young shinobi then told the fox that he hoped to resolve its hatred someday.Naruto chapter 539, pages 1-4 Despite audibly reproaching him for making such a claim, Kurama nevertheless had developed a level of respect for Naruto and his determination, even noting that he was different from the humans it had previously encountered, therefore allowing its jinchūriki to utilise the Nine-Tails Chakra Mode without consequence during the early stages of the Fourth Shinobi World War. Later on, as Naruto told Son Gokū of his desire to save the tailed beasts and become friends with Kurama,Naruto chapter 568, pages 15-17 the fox — having witnessed all of the challenges and endeavours Naruto had in his life — silently told the young shinobi that if he truly intended to help them, he would have to prove it through his actions.Naruto chapter 569, pages 12-17 When Naruto successfully freed Son Gokū from Obito's control, Kurama finally became convinced of Naruto's word and offered to meld its chakra with his as a coalition, to which Naruto then removed the seal that restrained it and happily acknowledged the fox as his teammate and a member of Konoha.Naruto chapter 570, page 15 Within that short space of time, the two had begun to express trust in one another, even to the point where Naruto would allow Kurama to take control of his body without worry, and switch back without hesitation.Naruto chapter 594, pages 4-5, 12 Kurama later admitted that it had the utmost faith in Naruto being able to defeat Obito and to carry on the legacy Minato and Jiraiya had left him, which also means that it no longer holds a grudge against Minato for sealing it inside of Naruto.Naruto chapter 597, pages 17-19 Kurama is also shown to be more caring about its comrades now as it put itself in harm's way to save B and Gyūki and even expressed concern for Naruto managing so many chakra cloaks at once. Kurama has also shown a more comical side of itself when it argued with Naruto about each other's stubbornness,Naruto chapter 645, pages 7-11 teasing Naruto about his first kiss from Sasuke, and later when it nervously lashed out at a joyful Naruto after the tailed beasts were freed from Kaguya Ōtsutsuki while flipping him off.Naruto chapter 691, page 6 Ultimately, Kurama formed a strong bond with Naruto; even after its Yang half was freed from its seal in Naruto, the fox accepted Hagoromo's request for it to return within Naruto without argument, showing it had grown to like Naruto's companionship, despite refusing to admit it to others. In the anime, Kurama came to fear Himawari after being incapacitated by a Gentle Fist attack used by her during an incident where Naruto had to shield Boruto from Himawari, who attacked him in anger for damaging her plushy.The Day Naruto Became Hokage (OVA) Appearance Kurama is a kitsune with nine long swiping tails. It has red-orange fur with black fur around its eyes that stretches to its ears, red irises with black slits for pupils and the upper-body structure of a human, complete with opposable thumbs on its clawed hands. During the last remaining days of Hagoromo, Kurama was much smaller in size, but still dwarfing the Sage. Its overall appearance was leaner and softer while less-defined in shape with a rounder face, akin to a fox cub. Over time, Kurama's size increased tremendously, roughly equaling the Hokage Rock, and Gamabunta being only the size of Kurama's torso. Its pupil alone is bigger than a tall human.Naruto chapter 620, pages 14 When Minato separated Kurama's Yin chakra and Yang chakra, it was split into two entities, both of which are shrunken more than half its original size,Naruto chapter 504, page 7 yet still roughly the size of other massive tailed beasts.Naruto chapter 610, page 5 While the two are basically identical to the other, Yang-Kurama retains its original colouring while Yin-Kurama is darker coloured.Naruto chapter 643, pages 1-2''Naruto: Shippūden'' episode 380 While manifesting its Nine-Tails Chakra Mode, the fox's entire body takes on a golden colour, its whiskers are much thicker, and black circular markings appear on its shoulders, stomach, as well as the front and back of its paws. Black lines also run the length of its spine, arms, legs and tails.Naruto chapter 571 Additionally, while Naruto is in Sage Mode, Kurama gains similar thick dark patches circling around its eyes.Naruto chapter 645, page 7 Upon gaining Naruto's Six Paths Chakra, Kurama's Tailed Beast Mode avatar grew to tremendous proportions, roughly the same size as Sasuke Uchiha's Six Paths Chakra-enhanced Complete Body — Susanoo,Naruto chapter 695 with its tails becoming bushier. After both halves of Kurama were sealed into Naruto, the fox was restored to its original size. Abilities Kurama is widely known as the strongest of the nine tailed beasts.Naruto chapter 471, page 11 Hashirama Senju, who could subdue the fox, viewed it as too powerful and dangerous to be left roaming.Naruto chapter 568, page 7 Even with only half its power, Kurama remained strong enough to defeat five other tailed beasts at the same time.Naruto chapter 571 After the Fourth Shinobi World War, Kurama's full power was restored once its two halves reunited inside Naruto, which could defeat Toneri's giant golemThe Last: Naruto the Movie and Momoshiki Ōtsutsuki's elemental construct.Boruto: Naruto the Movie Kurama later became able to manifest itself outside of Naruto, allowing the two to fight independently and away from each other. Chakra and Physical Prowess Even for a tailed beast, Kurama possesses massive reserves of powerful chakra, required to be sealed last into the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path to avoid overloading it.Naruto chapter 353, page 5 It can also accumulate a huge amount of chakra shortly after it has used up most of its own, enough to be passed on to the entire Allied Shinobi Forces and be felt countries away by non-sensors.Naruto chapter 616, pages 4-6 Due to Naruto's compatibility with Kurama's chakra, any chakra it possesses is limited for its jinchūriki alone, unless it was moulded to fit the recipient's unique chakra signature.Naruto chapter 698, page 3 When used by others, the chakra becomes dense enough to be seen as a visible shroud than can further protect the wearer. Using its chakra, Kurama can shroud itself within its Nine-Tails Chakra Mode to increase its power. Like Naruto, Kurama's reserves of chakra were greatly enhanced by the Six Paths Chakra Naruto had gained from Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki. Kurama has a great deal of brute force, reputedly able to raise tsunamis and flatten mountains with just a single swipe of a tail.Naruto chapter 1, page 1 Even with half its strength, it could overpower Obito's controlled tailed beasts, smash Madara's senjutsu-enhanced Susanoo with a tail,Naruto chapter 658, page 11 and with the Six Paths Chakra, battle Sasuke's Tailed Beast-enhanced Complete Body — Susanoo.Naruto chapter 695 Kurama is deceptively quite fast, able to catch Naruto in Sage Mode.Naruto chapter 497, pages 6-7 The fox is also durable enough to withstand several senjutsu-enhanced attacks,Naruto chapter 499, pages 7-8 and block a Tailed Beast Ball from the Ten-Tails' initial form.Naruto chapter 610, page 14 Ninjutsu As a tailed beast, Kurama can create a Tailed Beast Ball, and is able to fire it as a beam or rapid blast of spheres. Unlike most tailed beasts, Kurama can supercharge it, creating one many times its own size for much greater power, even on low chakra. One of these was powerful enough to counter a collaborated Tailed Beast Ball from five tailed beasts. At full power, Kurama's Tailed Beast Ball could blast Toneri's giant golem through the moon and into orbit. Kurama can create destructive shockwaves, capable of dispersing a massive Rasengan and knocking back five tailed beasts at once.Naruto chapter 497, page 5 Even when limited through Naruto's Version 1 and 2 states, they were strong enough to destroy an entire bridge and repel Pain's Shinra Tensei respectively.Naruto chapter 292, pages 9-11''Naruto'' chapter 438, pages 5-6 Kurama also had adept sensor skills, able to detect chakra from great distances and uniquely able to sense negative emotions,Naruto chapter 496, page 10 as well as natural energy, which it can accumulate and transfer to Naruto.Naruto chapter 696, page 14 In the anime, it is shown using Wind and Fire Release nature transformations, being able to generate twisters and breathe fire.Naruto: Shippūden episode 167 Intelligence Kurama is very cunning and can formulate strategies in the midst of battle. Through Naruto's body, the fox tricked Obito into using Kamui to absorb Kakashi into Kamui's dimension, only for Obito to become vulnerable to Kakashi's attacks as he phased through Naruto's punch.Naruto chapter 609, pages 9-14 Kurama has also shown remarkable leadership skills, being able to calmly and effectively instruct its allies on how best to engage the Ten-Tails.Naruto chapter 610, pages 9-10 In the anime, it has enough knowledge of fūinjutsu to determine the natures and weaknesses of the Eight Trigrams Seal that bound it inside Naruto.